Sayfalar

Tuesday, April 3, 2018

"Imitation, then, is one instinct of our nature. Next, there is the instinct for 'harmony' and rhythm, meters being manifestly sections of rhythm. Persons, therefore, starting with this natural gift developed by degrees their special aptitudes, till their rude improvisations gave birth to Poetry." -Aristotle

"Imitation, then, is one instinct of our nature. Next, there is the instinct for 'harmony' and rhythm, meters being manifestly sections of rhythm. Persons, therefore, starting with this natural gift developed by degrees their special aptitudes, till their rude improvisations gave birth to Poetry." -Aristotle

Although indelibly illustrious, the millennia-long tale of Iran is, by and large, a sad one. Ravaged by invaders who threatened to put paid to its rich and ancient cultural heritage, razed to the ground by bloodthirsty warlords, perennially betrayed by its own children, and far too often the victim of foreign ploys, the ‘land of the noble’ has been to hell and back again, and then some.The 19th Century was one of the darkest periods in Iran’s recent history. Ruled by sybaritic autocrats who sold Iran for a pittance to foreigners, and plagued by poverty, disease, ignorance, and an overall state of decrepitude and decay, Iran wasn’t exactly the place to be. Yet, as grim as the picture painted by travellers was, whether by Iranians or European diplomats, that depicted by the artists of the Qajar courts was truly a sight to behold. Sumptuous, iconic, and wholly novel, their artworks nearly have the potential to redeem the Qajars. View image of Jeune femme au chador Nearly a century after the fall of Iran’s Qajar dynasty (which lasted from 1785 to 1925), and amidst the festivities of the two-week-long Iranian New Year (Norooz), a landmark exhibition at the Louvre Lens Museum in France, The Rose Empire, is showcasing masterpieces of Qajar art. “In France, we’d never had an exhibition of Qajar art before, so it will be the first one”, says curator Gwenaëlle Fellinger. What’s more, the exhibition’s interior and displays are the work of the fashion designer – and Qajar art lover – Christian Lacroix. “Qajar art belongs to these temporal spaces that have always fascinated me, between two worlds, two eras”, he tells BBC Culture. “The Qajar era is interesting … because of its East-meets-West/West-meets-East mixture of influences.” View image of Portrait de Nasir al-Din Shah en apothéose During the golden age of the Safavid shahs in the 17th Century, their capital Isfahan was the envy of all who visited it. The site of a major cultural renaissance and crossroads, and an inspiration to artists the world over, it is still referred to by its citizens as ‘half the world’. Things took a downward turn, however, after the death of the greatest ‘Sophy’ (as Shakespeare would have said) of them all, Shah Abbas the Great. By the time the last Safavid monarch, Abbas III, ascended the throne, the sun had set over Iran once again.Paradise lostIf the Safavids had ushered in an era of culture and exchange, and the Afsharids and Zands imperialism and peace, that of the Qajars was one of humiliation and depravity. The 18th and 19th Centuries saw Iran stripped of all its former splendour. Vying for power in the strategically important Iran, as well as elsewhere in Central Asia, the Russians and British continually encroached on Iran’s sovereignty. Children were lucky not to die in their cribs, sickness often meant death, venality was what set wheels in motion, and ancient sites were used for target practice With Iran being ruled by feckless and feeble monarchs, the job was all too easy for foreign conspirators; in fact, in some cases, they didn’t even have to lift a finger. To finance his over-the-top lifestyle, Nassereddin Shah – perhaps the most well-known Qajar monarch – gave a single British baron control over all of Iran’s roads, telegraphs, railways, mills, factories, and most of its natural resources; and another, a monopoly on Iran’s tobacco industry. Foreign intrigue aside, Iran was in a pitiful state. Travellers to the country wrote about the lack of proper infrastructure, hideous living conditions, extreme debauchery (drunken orgies and the like), and corruption. View image of Bol à couvercle, plat et cuiller d'un ensemble signé et dédié à Fath Ali Shah The story at the imperial courts, however, was another matter. Expanding on new forms of aesthetics in painting that were introduced in the Afsharid, Zand, and even late Safavid periods, which broke out of the framework of two-dimensional Persian miniatures, artists at the Qajar courts created a visual vocabulary wholly their own. Bedecked in towering crowns topped with aigrettes, glittering brassards, and vivacious robes, and sporting outlandish beards and moustaches, Qajar monarchs like Fat’h Ali Shah, Mohammad Shah, and Nassereddin Shah appeared larger than life, and as works of art in and of themselves. Courtly paintings and photographs depicted a dazzling wonderland of colour, passion, and every jewel under the sun Ditching the dainty and delicate ideals of beauty prevalent in previous eras, painters at the Qajar courts opted for thick, conjoined eyebrows, dark, almond-shaped eyes with coquettish gazes, little rosebud lips, and long, flowing curls. Shahs were attended on by pageboys bearing jewel-encrusted ghalyans (water-pipes), female dancers performed acrobatics on hennaed hands, and belles in diaphanous blouses pouring copious amounts of wine. View image of Boucle de ceinture Elsewhere, Nassereddin Shah, obsessed with all things European and keen to introduce ‘modern’ ways to his country, toyed with photography in his spare time; Antoin Sevruguin captured the lives of the rich, the poor, and the downright wretched on celluloid; and painters like Kamal ol-Molk artfully blended together European and Iranian imagery. In contrast to French and British magazines of the day, which often portrayed the shahs as spineless and degenerate, and Iran as a Persian cat made the plaything of a British lion and Russian bear, courtly paintings and photographs depicted a dazzling wonderland of colour, passion, and every jewel under the sun in which the Shah, ‘God’s Shadow on Earth’, reigned supreme.The age of opulenceThe art of the Qajar era has long been admired by artists and scholars, says Christian Lacroix. “ opulent elegance impressed Louise Dahl-Wolfe … She was inspired by Qajar portraits for a famous shooting session – and one of my favourite fashion features ever.” Yet, Qajar art has also been misunderstood and overlooked by many. In France, Qajar art is looked down on. People usually say it’s kind of kitsch – Gwenaëlle Fellinger “In France, Qajar art is looked down on,” says Fellinger. “People usually say it’s kind of kitsch. The problem is that it’s totally unknown, and the objects seen in auctions are not really of the best quality.” Indeed, a desire to acquaint French audiences with the richness of Qajar art is the driving force behind The Rose Empire, a first for France, and the first major survey of Qajar art since 1998’s Royal Persian Paintings, held at the Brooklyn Museum in New York and the Brunei Gallery at London’s School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). View image of Jeune femme à la jupe bleue Boasting over 400 works from museums and private collections around the world, some of which have never been seen before in Europe, the exhibition focuses on the art of the courts, and goes beyond paintings to also include carpets, textiles, ceramics, and metalwork. Amongst these, Fellinger is particularly excited about the lacquerwork and enamels as well as life-size paintings from the Golestan Museum reputed to have been lost. Lacroix, on the other hand, has a special fondness for the carpets and portraits on display, particularly those of Nassereddin Shah and “the musicians laden with pearl jewels precious shimmering costumes.” And, while there is a room dedicated to religious-inspired art, Fellinger notes that one shouldn’t be quick to call Qajar art ‘Islamic’ – as it and Iranian art in general often are – and that the term itself is fraught with issues. “ is a totally an Occidental definition, of course … The problem with it is that it includes everything, from Spain to India … The only link is the religion … It’s a civilisational term that is quite easy.” View image of Portrait de religieux Just as the exhibition doesn’t limit itself to narrow interpretations of Iranian art, it also goes beyond the Qajars to serve as a sort of introduction to the richness and exuberance of Iranian art and culture as a whole, as well as a catalyst for intercultural dialogue. “In a period like the one we live in politically, economically, and diplomatically, culture from this part of the world is important to be shown in this part of Europe for a better understanding,” says Lacroix. “Even during the Pahlavi era … Iran and France seemed unable to understand each other, and the gap is deeper and deeper each day with events in the Middle East …” Likewise, Fellinger, noting the negative way Iran is often portrayed in Europe, says, “The point is also to prove that there is a really interesting culture.”Despite the decades of darkness the Qajar monarchs brought to Iran, the splendour of Iranian art and culture continued to shine in full force; and now, centuries later, the dazzling masterpieces of that era’s artists are not only as radiant as ever, but are also being used to foster understanding and appreciation of an ancient and much-misunderstood civilisation. Should we be surprised? Not according to Lacroix. “Art is the best link, always.”If you would like to comment on this story or anything else you have seen on BBC Culture, head over to our Facebook page or message us on Twitter.And if you liked this story, sign up for the weekly bbc.com features newsletter, called “If You Only Read 6 Things This Week”. A handpicked selection of stories from BBC Future, Culture, Capital and Travel, delivered to your inbox every Friday.

“It could be another Europe in terms of buying capacity,” said Clare McAndrew, an arts economist and author of UBS and Art Basel’s annual study of the art market. In the most recent edition, she found China had grown to become the world’s second-largest art market, accounting for 21% of sales globally, slightly outpacing the United Kingdom thanks in part to the fall in the value of the pound.

‘she's good at art’More example sentences ‘For all his inspiration, the artist still had to work at his art, and find people to buy it.’ ‘Like Warhol, he began as a commercial artist and his art has its roots in advertising.’ ‘This is undoubtedly an age of globalised art, in which artists routinely show in other countries.’ ‘After art school Moira taught art for a couple of years at the secondary school in Blackminster.’ ‘Unlike other prizes, the Turner does not attempt to award various categories of art or artists.’ ‘If an artist can stay humble and focus only on his art, he rises way beyond his talent and his craft.’ ‘He first became interested in art while doing lino cuts and motion drawings in school.’ ‘The pupils enjoyed stories, art activities and games and on Tuesday they enjoyed a Chinese meal.’ ‘There are limits to what art can accomplish and to what it should presume to do.’ ‘Much of his work in stimulating art activities in the borough was carried out modestly and behind the scenes.’ ‘Its activities include the provision of lunches and a wide range of leisure activities from art to yoga.’ ‘This kind of art does little to inspire women to claim their independence, it is depressive.’ ‘The context for the development of Sam Doyle's career is as interesting as the artist and his art.’ ‘We use art, poetry and prose so that visitors can feel and experience the beauty of nature.’ ‘There is already table tennis but centre workers would like more activities, such as art projects.’ ‘The festival art competition will involve youngsters creating paintings or drawings.’ ‘Thirty of the dustmen are now being sent to modern art classes to try to ensure that the same mistake never happens again.’ ‘This event features a range of activities across art, music, dance and film-making.’ ‘She had a real flair for art and did some brilliant drawings and paintings while she was here.’ ‘Its sub groups included clubs for activities like drama, art and crafts, and country dancing.’ ‘This also makes them ideal for artists or art students seeking inspiration or affirmation.’

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Nevertheless, there have been many periods where art of very high quality was available, in terms of ownership, across large parts of society, above all in cheap media such as pottery, which persists in the ground, and perishable media such as textiles and wood. In many different cultures, the ceramics of indigenous peoples of the Americas are found in such a wide range of graves that they were clearly not restricted to a social elite, though other forms of art may have been. Reproductive methods such as moulds made mass-production easier, and were used to bring high-quality Ancient Roman pottery and Greek Tanagra figurines to a very wide market. Cylinder seals were both artistic and practical, and very widely used by what can be loosely called the middle class in the Ancient Near East. Once coins were widely used these also became an art form that reached the widest range of society.

Nearly a century after the fall of Iran’s Qajar dynasty (which lasted from 1785 to 1925), and amidst the festivities of the two-week-long Iranian New Year (Norooz), a landmark exhibition at the Louvre Lens Museum in France, The Rose Empire, is showcasing masterpieces of Qajar art. “In France, we’d never had an exhibition of Qajar art before, so it will be the first one”, says curator Gwenaëlle Fellinger. What’s more, the exhibition’s interior and displays are the work of the fashion designer – and Qajar art lover – Christian Lacroix. “Qajar art belongs to these temporal spaces that have always fascinated me, between two worlds, two eras”, he tells BBC Culture. “The Qajar era is interesting … because of its East-meets-West/West-meets-East mixture of influences.”

“This Art Basel is going to be the main Art Basel of all,” Cardi said. “Not just because it’s the new thing, but because it’s serious, and the quantity of collectors here keeps increasing. They’re not just looking for just the brand name, they look for high quality. And they don’t care about the price.”

‘his collection of modern art’as modifier ‘an art critic’More example sentences ‘The most economical way to sum it all up is with that favourite word of art critics: eclectic.’ ‘Belfast is another major city well worth travelling to for contemporary and modern art.’ ‘It was originally built as a picture gallery for a large private art collection, with a glass roof.’ ‘Formerly a vast and imposing power station, the building is now a vast and imposing modern art gallery.’ ‘Built after the First World War it's renowned for its Rodin, but more modern art also has a place.’ ‘Also, perhaps surprisingly, there is even a shortage of art, or at least of art that can be reproduced.’ ‘I like a lot of modern art but I am annoyed that so much gets paid for it.’ ‘According to another, the British are preternaturally blind to the merits of modern art.’ ‘She was the muse and lover of the French poet and art critic Guillaume Apollinaire.’ ‘The artists, who were all painters, had joined together to find somewhere to show modern art.’ ‘During the fifty plus years of his working life he saw the reputation and value of the modern art he admired rise.’ ‘There was lots of blond wood, geometric modern art on the walls, and new dishes on the menu that tickled our fancies.’ ‘The Niland Gallery has one of the finest collections of modern Irish art in the world.’ ‘It has also been reported that some institutions may even lend against a work of art to buy more art!’ ‘Once seen as avant-garde, these thirtysomethings are now at the core of the modern art world.’ ‘What was striking about this year's fair was the appearance of more modern and contemporary art.’ ‘When he died in 1784 he was chiefly known as a sentimental playwright and art critic.’ ‘None the less it is possible for a student to buy art that will hopefully appreciate in value.’ ‘So the labels and the catalogue are of greater importance here than in an exhibition of more modern art.’ ‘The Earl certainly had a fine eye for art and appreciated both the beauty and rarity of the items he collected.’Synonymsfine art, artwork, creative activityView synonyms

The history of twentieth-century art is a narrative of endless possibilities and the search for new standards, each being torn down in succession by the next. Thus the parameters of impressionism, Expressionism, Fauvism, Cubism, Dadaism, Surrealism, etc. cannot be maintained very much beyond the time of their invention. Increasing global interaction during this time saw an equivalent influence of other cultures into Western art. Thus, Japanese woodblock prints (themselves influenced by Western Renaissance draftsmanship) had an immense influence on impressionism and subsequent development. Later, African sculptures were taken up by Picasso and to some extent by Matisse. Similarly, in the 19th and 20th centuries the West has had huge impacts on Eastern art with originally western ideas like Communism and Post-Modernism exerting a powerful influence.

Another important innovation came in the 15th century in Europe, when printmaking began with small woodcuts, mostly religious, that were often very small and hand-colored, and affordable even by peasants who glued them to the walls of their homes. Printed books were initially very expensive, but fell steadily in price until by the 19th century even the poorest could afford some with printed illustrations. Popular prints of many different sorts have decorated homes and other places for centuries.

“Obviously it’s a learning curve here,” Rastorfer said. “People take that very seriously and that’s something you can’t do in five minutes.” He said potential buyers want to learn “more about the artist, maybe the price structure, how peers see it, how museum curators see it,” and the gallery obliges with information, although buyers will often research independently too.

In 1946, William K. Wimsatt and Monroe Beardsley published a classic and controversial New Critical essay entitled "The Intentional Fallacy", in which they argued strongly against the relevance of an author's intention, or "intended meaning" in the analysis of a literary work. For Wimsatt and Beardsley, the words on the page were all that mattered; importation of meanings from outside the text was considered irrelevant, and potentially distracting.

Sculptures, cave paintings, rock paintings and petroglyphs from the Upper Paleolithic dating to roughly 40,000 years ago have been found, but the precise meaning of such art is often disputed because so little is known about the cultures that produced them. The oldest art objects in the world—a series of tiny, drilled snail shells about 75,000 years old—were discovered in a South African cave. Containers that may have been used to hold paints have been found dating as far back as 100,000 years. Etched shells by Homo erectus from 430,000 and 540,000 years ago were discovered in 2014.

‘He was her first and only boyfriend, just into his second year at Durham, where he was studying general arts.’ ‘It was after she had studied business and arts at college in Bangkok that McIntosh came to wider public prominence.’ ‘It thus encompasses in a unique way the arts, social sciences, and natural sciences.’ ‘The theme is York's environment, which takes in science, geography, history and arts topics.’ ‘This should be a vital component in an arts and humanities education today.’ ‘So to do that I would use the example of my job, which is to run a writing course in an arts college.’ ‘I am intending to study media and arts and fear for my future because of this lack of vision.’ ‘At school, she will excel at the arts subjects, and will also develop a love of literature.’ ‘It shocking to see how ignorant and dismissive of the arts scientists can be.’ ‘Looking ahead, construction will be completed on the new arts and humanities building by October.’ ‘We are here to write an essay and a poem for our arts and social sciences course.’ ‘Schoolteachers today are struggling to find time to fit arts subjects into a crowded national curriculum.’ ‘I think my sensibilities were running more towards arts and humanities than math and science.’ ‘For their sixth option, they can take an arts courses or an extra science, language or humanity.’ ‘It strongly encourages research in the arts and in political studies in particular.’ ‘It was a similar story at Strathclyde University when I rang about its arts and social sciences course.’ ‘There was a course covering all aspects of study including arts, science and mathematics.’ ‘These will focus on the teaching of technology, modern languages, arts and science.’

The content of much formal art through history was dictated by the patron or commissioner rather than just the artist, but with the advent of Romanticism, and economic changes in the production of art, the artists' vision became the usual determinant of the content of his art, increasing the incidence of controversies, though often reducing their significance. Strong incentives for perceived originality and publicity also encouraged artists to court controversy. Théodore Géricault's Raft of the Medusa (c. 1820), was in part a political commentary on a recent event. Édouard Manet's Le Déjeuner sur l'Herbe , was considered scandalous not because of the nude woman, but because she is seated next to men fully dressed in the clothing of the time, rather than in robes of the antique world. John Singer Sargent's Madame Pierre Gautreau (Madam X) , caused a controversy over the reddish pink used to color the woman's ear lobe, considered far too suggestive and supposedly ruining the high-society model's reputation.

1mass noun The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power. ‘the art of the Renaissance’ ‘great art is concerned with moral imperfections’ ‘she studied art in Paris’More example sentences ‘There may be more beautiful nudes in the history of art; there are none more erotic or more real.’ ‘She would also like to teach Catford children to appreciate art and culture.’ ‘Music and art are an expression of the desire for a world free of injustice and war.’ ‘We are the ones who, upon closing in on a work of art, liberate the powers confined within.’ ‘The countervailing forces are an absolute faith in her achievements and in the redeeming power of art.’ ‘His passion for art, for beauty and for God was his driving force throughout his life.’ ‘Hence a potential, and often open, conflict between art and the powers that be.’ ‘The limits of human invention and art have been exhausted, and there is nothing more to say.’ ‘If the show can be taken as a barometer of visual art in this country, there is much to be excited about.’ ‘Blindness need no longer be a barrier for people who want to appreciate art.’ ‘A lot of people who know nothing about art say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.’ ‘In the last 15 years Scotland has been a leading light in the field of public art and public sculpture.’ ‘Well what was happening was a demonstration of the power of art to institute communion.’ ‘Since then, Irish art has come to be appreciated almost to the same degree as Irish literature.’ ‘The works of both artists attest to their belief in the transforming power of art in society.’ ‘As he sees it, the beauty of art and the beauty of maths are two sides of the same coin.’ ‘It would be nice to claim that it was the eternal pull of art and beauty that brought me to Rome thirteen years ago.’ ‘His style is almost synonomous with the idealism of beauty and peace in renaissance art.’ ‘For Vasari, the stylistic and formal development of art is of primary importance.’ ‘Our appreciation of beauty in a work of art becomes muddled with familiarity.’Synonymsfine art, artwork, creative activityView synonyms1.1 Works produced by human creative skill and imagination. ‘his collection of modern art’as modifier ‘an art critic’More example sentences ‘The most economical way to sum it all up is with that favourite word of art critics: eclectic.’ ‘Belfast is another major city well worth travelling to for contemporary and modern art.’ ‘It was originally built as a picture gallery for a large private art collection, with a glass roof.’ ‘Formerly a vast and imposing power station, the building is now a vast and imposing modern art gallery.’ ‘Built after the First World War it's renowned for its Rodin, but more modern art also has a place.’ ‘Also, perhaps surprisingly, there is even a shortage of art, or at least of art that can be reproduced.’ ‘I like a lot of modern art but I am annoyed that so much gets paid for it.’ ‘According to another, the British are preternaturally blind to the merits of modern art.’ ‘She was the muse and lover of the French poet and art critic Guillaume Apollinaire.’ ‘The artists, who were all painters, had joined together to find somewhere to show modern art.’ ‘During the fifty plus years of his working life he saw the reputation and value of the modern art he admired rise.’ ‘There was lots of blond wood, geometric modern art on the walls, and new dishes on the menu that tickled our fancies.’ ‘The Niland Gallery has one of the finest collections of modern Irish art in the world.’ ‘It has also been reported that some institutions may even lend against a work of art to buy more art!’ ‘Once seen as avant-garde, these thirtysomethings are now at the core of the modern art world.’ ‘What was striking about this year's fair was the appearance of more modern and contemporary art.’ ‘When he died in 1784 he was chiefly known as a sentimental playwright and art critic.’ ‘None the less it is possible for a student to buy art that will hopefully appreciate in value.’ ‘So the labels and the catalogue are of greater importance here than in an exhibition of more modern art.’ ‘The Earl certainly had a fine eye for art and appreciated both the beauty and rarity of the items he collected.’Synonymsfine art, artwork, creative activityView synonyms1.2 Creative activity resulting in the production of paintings, drawings, or sculpture. ‘she's good at art’More example sentences ‘For all his inspiration, the artist still had to work at his art, and find people to buy it.’ ‘Like Warhol, he began as a commercial artist and his art has its roots in advertising.’ ‘This is undoubtedly an age of globalised art, in which artists routinely show in other countries.’ ‘After art school Moira taught art for a couple of years at the secondary school in Blackminster.’ ‘Unlike other prizes, the Turner does not attempt to award various categories of art or artists.’ ‘If an artist can stay humble and focus only on his art, he rises way beyond his talent and his craft.’ ‘He first became interested in art while doing lino cuts and motion drawings in school.’ ‘The pupils enjoyed stories, art activities and games and on Tuesday they enjoyed a Chinese meal.’ ‘There are limits to what art can accomplish and to what it should presume to do.’ ‘Much of his work in stimulating art activities in the borough was carried out modestly and behind the scenes.’ ‘Its activities include the provision of lunches and a wide range of leisure activities from art to yoga.’ ‘This kind of art does little to inspire women to claim their independence, it is depressive.’ ‘The context for the development of Sam Doyle's career is as interesting as the artist and his art.’ ‘We use art, poetry and prose so that visitors can feel and experience the beauty of nature.’ ‘There is already table tennis but centre workers would like more activities, such as art projects.’ ‘The festival art competition will involve youngsters creating paintings or drawings.’ ‘Thirty of the dustmen are now being sent to modern art classes to try to ensure that the same mistake never happens again.’ ‘This event features a range of activities across art, music, dance and film-making.’ ‘She had a real flair for art and did some brilliant drawings and paintings while she was here.’ ‘Its sub groups included clubs for activities like drama, art and crafts, and country dancing.’ ‘This also makes them ideal for artists or art students seeking inspiration or affirmation.’

The gradual abandonment of naturalism and the depiction of realistic representations of the visual appearance of subjects in the 19th and 20th centuries led to a rolling controversy lasting for over a century. In the twentieth century, Pablo Picasso's Guernica used arresting cubist techniques and stark monochromatic oils, to depict the harrowing consequences of a contemporary bombing of a small, ancient Basque town. Leon Golub's Interrogation III , depicts a female nude, hooded detainee strapped to a chair, her legs open to reveal her sexual organs, surrounded by two tormentors dressed in everyday clothing. Andres Serrano's Piss Christ is a photograph of a crucifix, sacred to the Christian religion and representing Christ's sacrifice and final suffering, submerged in a glass of the artist's own urine. The resulting uproar led to comments in the United States Senate about public funding of the arts.

Many great traditions in art have a foundation in the art of one of the great ancient civilizations: Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia, India, China, Ancient Greece, Rome, as well as Inca, Maya, and Olmec. Each of these centers of early civilization developed a unique and characteristic style in its art. Because of the size and duration of these civilizations, more of their art works have survived and more of their influence has been transmitted to other cultures and later times. Some also have provided the first records of how artists worked. For example, this period of Greek art saw a veneration of the human physical form and the development of equivalent skills to show musculature, poise, beauty, and anatomically correct proportions.

Art has long been controversial, that is to say disliked by some viewers, for a wide variety of reasons, though most pre-modern controversies are dimly recorded, or completely lost to a modern view. Iconoclasm is the destruction of art that is disliked for a variety of reasons, including religious ones. Aniconism is a general dislike of either all figurative images, or often just religious ones, and has been a thread in many major religions. It has been a crucial factor in the history of Islamic art, where depictions of Muhammad remain especially controversial. Much art has been disliked purely because it depicted or otherwise stood for unpopular rulers, parties or other groups. Artistic conventions have often been conservative and taken very seriously by art critics, though often much less so by a wider public. The iconographic content of art could cause controversy, as with late medieval depictions of the new motif of the Swoon of the Virgin in scenes of the Crucifixion of Jesus. The Last Judgment by Michelangelo was controversial for various reasons, including breaches of decorum through nudity and the Apollo-like pose of Christ.

In Hong Kong alone, this May, the Tai Kwun cultural center will open in a former police station, while the M+ Museum in West Kowloon is set to open in 2019. The International Monetary Fund forecasts the economy in Asia will grow at 6.5% in the next two years, roughly the same pace as 2017, making it responsible for over half of global growth. More importantly, notes Adrian Zuercher, UBS’s chief investment officer for the region, as the Chinese economy matures, it is shifting towards more consumption, instead of investment and savings, leading to higher demand for luxury goods like art and fashion. Despite threats of a trade war, Zuercher believes the impact of tariffs on Chinese growth will be “quite marginal.”

"By contrast, the realistic attitude, inspired by positivism, from Saint Thomas Aquinas to Anatole France, clearly seems to me to be hostile to any intellectual or moral advancement. I loathe it, for it is made up of mediocrity, hate, and dull conceit. It is this attitude which today gives birth to these ridiculous books, these insulting plays. It constantly feeds on and derives strength from the newspapers and stultifies both science and art by assiduously flattering the lowest of tastes; clarity bordering on stupidity, a dog's life." – André Breton (Surrealism)

Most modern public museums and art education programs for children in schools can be traced back to this impulse to have art available to everyone. Museums in the United States tend to be gifts from the very rich to the masses. (The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, for example, was created by John Taylor Johnston, a railroad executive whose personal art collection seeded the museum.) But despite all this, at least one of the important functions of art in the 21st century remains as a marker of wealth and social status.

‘There may be more beautiful nudes in the history of art; there are none more erotic or more real.’ ‘She would also like to teach Catford children to appreciate art and culture.’ ‘Music and art are an expression of the desire for a world free of injustice and war.’ ‘We are the ones who, upon closing in on a work of art, liberate the powers confined within.’ ‘The countervailing forces are an absolute faith in her achievements and in the redeeming power of art.’ ‘His passion for art, for beauty and for God was his driving force throughout his life.’ ‘Hence a potential, and often open, conflict between art and the powers that be.’ ‘The limits of human invention and art have been exhausted, and there is nothing more to say.’ ‘If the show can be taken as a barometer of visual art in this country, there is much to be excited about.’ ‘Blindness need no longer be a barrier for people who want to appreciate art.’ ‘A lot of people who know nothing about art say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.’ ‘In the last 15 years Scotland has been a leading light in the field of public art and public sculpture.’ ‘Well what was happening was a demonstration of the power of art to institute communion.’ ‘Since then, Irish art has come to be appreciated almost to the same degree as Irish literature.’ ‘The works of both artists attest to their belief in the transforming power of art in society.’ ‘As he sees it, the beauty of art and the beauty of maths are two sides of the same coin.’ ‘It would be nice to claim that it was the eternal pull of art and beauty that brought me to Rome thirteen years ago.’ ‘His style is almost synonomous with the idealism of beauty and peace in renaissance art.’ ‘For Vasari, the stylistic and formal development of art is of primary importance.’ ‘Our appreciation of beauty in a work of art becomes muddled with familiarity.’

More example sentences ‘He was her first and only boyfriend, just into his second year at Durham, where he was studying general arts.’ ‘It was after she had studied business and arts at college in Bangkok that McIntosh came to wider public prominence.’ ‘It thus encompasses in a unique way the arts, social sciences, and natural sciences.’ ‘The theme is York's environment, which takes in science, geography, history and arts topics.’ ‘This should be a vital component in an arts and humanities education today.’ ‘So to do that I would use the example of my job, which is to run a writing course in an arts college.’ ‘I am intending to study media and arts and fear for my future because of this lack of vision.’ ‘At school, she will excel at the arts subjects, and will also develop a love of literature.’ ‘It shocking to see how ignorant and dismissive of the arts scientists can be.’ ‘Looking ahead, construction will be completed on the new arts and humanities building by October.’ ‘We are here to write an essay and a poem for our arts and social sciences course.’ ‘Schoolteachers today are struggling to find time to fit arts subjects into a crowded national curriculum.’ ‘I think my sensibilities were running more towards arts and humanities than math and science.’ ‘For their sixth option, they can take an arts courses or an extra science, language or humanity.’ ‘It strongly encourages research in the arts and in political studies in particular.’ ‘It was a similar story at Strathclyde University when I rang about its arts and social sciences course.’ ‘There was a course covering all aspects of study including arts, science and mathematics.’ ‘These will focus on the teaching of technology, modern languages, arts and science.’

Despite the decades of darkness the Qajar monarchs brought to Iran, the splendour of Iranian art and culture continued to shine in full force; and now, centuries later, the dazzling masterpieces of that era’s artists are not only as radiant as ever, but are also being used to foster understanding and appreciation of an ancient and much-misunderstood civilisation. Should we be surprised? Not according to Lacroix. “Art is the best link, always.”

Art is a diverse range of human activities in creating visual, auditory or performing artifacts (artworks), expressing the author's imaginative or technical skill, intended to be appreciated for their beauty or emotional power. In their most general form these activities include the production of works of art, the criticism of art, the study of the history of art, and the aesthetic dissemination of art.

/**/ /**/ A landmark exhibition celebrates the often misunderstood art of Iran’s Qajar dynasty. It can tell us a lot about the country’s fascinating culture, writes Joobin Bekhrad. Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Reddit Share on WhatsApp Share on Google+ Share by Email Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Reddit Share on StumbleUpon Share on Google+ Share by Email By Joobin Bekhrad 23 March 2018 Although indelibly illustrious, the millennia-long tale of Iran is, by and large, a sad one. Ravaged by invaders who threatened to put paid to its rich and ancient cultural heritage, razed to the ground by bloodthirsty warlords, perennially betrayed by its own children, and far too often the victim of foreign ploys, the ‘land of the noble’ has been to hell and back again, and then some.The 19th Century was one of the darkest periods in Iran’s recent history. Ruled by sybaritic autocrats who sold Iran for a pittance to foreigners, and plagued by poverty, disease, ignorance, and an overall state of decrepitude and decay, Iran wasn’t exactly the place to be. Yet, as grim as the picture painted by travellers was, whether by Iranians or European diplomats, that depicted by the artists of the Qajar courts was truly a sight to behold. Sumptuous, iconic, and wholly novel, their artworks nearly have the potential to redeem the Qajars. View image of Jeune femme au chador Nearly a century after the fall of Iran’s Qajar dynasty (which lasted from 1785 to 1925), and amidst the festivities of the two-week-long Iranian New Year (Norooz), a landmark exhibition at the Louvre Lens Museum in France, The Rose Empire, is showcasing masterpieces of Qajar art. “In France, we’d never had an exhibition of Qajar art before, so it will be the first one”, says curator Gwenaëlle Fellinger. What’s more, the exhibition’s interior and displays are the work of the fashion designer – and Qajar art lover – Christian Lacroix. “Qajar art belongs to these temporal spaces that have always fascinated me, between two worlds, two eras”, he tells BBC Culture. “The Qajar era is interesting … because of its East-meets-West/West-meets-East mixture of influences.” View image of Portrait de Nasir al-Din Shah en apothéose During the golden age of the Safavid shahs in the 17th Century, their capital Isfahan was the envy of all who visited it. The site of a major cultural renaissance and crossroads, and an inspiration to artists the world over, it is still referred to by its citizens as ‘half the world’. Things took a downward turn, however, after the death of the greatest ‘Sophy’ (as Shakespeare would have said) of them all, Shah Abbas the Great. By the time the last Safavid monarch, Abbas III, ascended the throne, the sun had set over Iran once again.Paradise lostIf the Safavids had ushered in an era of culture and exchange, and the Afsharids and Zands imperialism and peace, that of the Qajars was one of humiliation and depravity. The 18th and 19th Centuries saw Iran stripped of all its former splendour. Vying for power in the strategically important Iran, as well as elsewhere in Central Asia, the Russians and British continually encroached on Iran’s sovereignty. Children were lucky not to die in their cribs, sickness often meant death, venality was what set wheels in motion, and ancient sites were used for target practice With Iran being ruled by feckless and feeble monarchs, the job was all too easy for foreign conspirators; in fact, in some cases, they didn’t even have to lift a finger. To finance his over-the-top lifestyle, Nassereddin Shah – perhaps the most well-known Qajar monarch – gave a single British baron control over all of Iran’s roads, telegraphs, railways, mills, factories, and most of its natural resources; and another, a monopoly on Iran’s tobacco industry. Foreign intrigue aside, Iran was in a pitiful state. Travellers to the country wrote about the lack of proper infrastructure, hideous living conditions, extreme debauchery (drunken orgies and the like), and corruption. View image of Bol à couvercle, plat et cuiller d'un ensemble signé et dédié à Fath Ali Shah The story at the imperial courts, however, was another matter. Expanding on new forms of aesthetics in painting that were introduced in the Afsharid, Zand, and even late Safavid periods, which broke out of the framework of two-dimensional Persian miniatures, artists at the Qajar courts created a visual vocabulary wholly their own. Bedecked in towering crowns topped with aigrettes, glittering brassards, and vivacious robes, and sporting outlandish beards and moustaches, Qajar monarchs like Fat’h Ali Shah, Mohammad Shah, and Nassereddin Shah appeared larger than life, and as works of art in and of themselves. Courtly paintings and photographs depicted a dazzling wonderland of colour, passion, and every jewel under the sun Ditching the dainty and delicate ideals of beauty prevalent in previous eras, painters at the Qajar courts opted for thick, conjoined eyebrows, dark, almond-shaped eyes with coquettish gazes, little rosebud lips, and long, flowing curls. Shahs were attended on by pageboys bearing jewel-encrusted ghalyans (water-pipes), female dancers performed acrobatics on hennaed hands, and belles in diaphanous blouses pouring copious amounts of wine. View image of Boucle de ceinture Elsewhere, Nassereddin Shah, obsessed with all things European and keen to introduce ‘modern’ ways to his country, toyed with photography in his spare time; Antoin Sevruguin captured the lives of the rich, the poor, and the downright wretched on celluloid; and painters like Kamal ol-Molk artfully blended together European and Iranian imagery. In contrast to French and British magazines of the day, which often portrayed the shahs as spineless and degenerate, and Iran as a Persian cat made the plaything of a British lion and Russian bear, courtly paintings and photographs depicted a dazzling wonderland of colour, passion, and every jewel under the sun in which the Shah, ‘God’s Shadow on Earth’, reigned supreme.The age of opulenceThe art of the Qajar era has long been admired by artists and scholars, says Christian Lacroix. “ opulent elegance impressed Louise Dahl-Wolfe … She was inspired by Qajar portraits for a famous shooting session – and one of my favourite fashion features ever.” Yet, Qajar art has also been misunderstood and overlooked by many. In France, Qajar art is looked down on. People usually say it’s kind of kitsch – Gwenaëlle Fellinger “In France, Qajar art is looked down on,” says Fellinger. “People usually say it’s kind of kitsch. The problem is that it’s totally unknown, and the objects seen in auctions are not really of the best quality.” Indeed, a desire to acquaint French audiences with the richness of Qajar art is the driving force behind The Rose Empire, a first for France, and the first major survey of Qajar art since 1998’s Royal Persian Paintings, held at the Brooklyn Museum in New York and the Brunei Gallery at London’s School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). View image of Jeune femme à la jupe bleue Boasting over 400 works from museums and private collections around the world, some of which have never been seen before in Europe, the exhibition focuses on the art of the courts, and goes beyond paintings to also include carpets, textiles, ceramics, and metalwork. Amongst these, Fellinger is particularly excited about the lacquerwork and enamels as well as life-size paintings from the Golestan Museum reputed to have been lost. Lacroix, on the other hand, has a special fondness for the carpets and portraits on display, particularly those of Nassereddin Shah and “the musicians laden with pearl jewels precious shimmering costumes.” And, while there is a room dedicated to religious-inspired art, Fellinger notes that one shouldn’t be quick to call Qajar art ‘Islamic’ – as it and Iranian art in general often are – and that the term itself is fraught with issues. “ is a totally an Occidental definition, of course … The problem with it is that it includes everything, from Spain to India … The only link is the religion … It’s a civilisational term that is quite easy.” View image of Portrait de religieux Just as the exhibition doesn’t limit itself to narrow interpretations of Iranian art, it also goes beyond the Qajars to serve as a sort of introduction to the richness and exuberance of Iranian art and culture as a whole, as well as a catalyst for intercultural dialogue. “In a period like the one we live in politically, economically, and diplomatically, culture from this part of the world is important to be shown in this part of Europe for a better understanding,” says Lacroix. “Even during the Pahlavi era … Iran and France seemed unable to understand each other, and the gap is deeper and deeper each day with events in the Middle East …” Likewise, Fellinger, noting the negative way Iran is often portrayed in Europe, says, “The point is also to prove that there is a really interesting culture.”Despite the decades of darkness the Qajar monarchs brought to Iran, the splendour of Iranian art and culture continued to shine in full force; and now, centuries later, the dazzling masterpieces of that era’s artists are not only as radiant as ever, but are also being used to foster understanding and appreciation of an ancient and much-misunderstood civilisation. Should we be surprised? Not according to Lacroix. “Art is the best link, always.”If you would like to comment on this story or anything else you have seen on BBC Culture, head over to our Facebook page or message us on Twitter.And if you liked this story, sign up for the weekly bbc.com features newsletter, called “If You Only Read 6 Things This Week”. A handpicked selection of stories from BBC Future, Culture, Capital and Travel, delivered to your inbox every Friday.

“That discount question is as old as Chinese culture,” said Mathias Rastorfer, CEO of the Swiss Galerie Gmurzynska. “That comes up all the time— is art for art’s sake.” He cited recent stock market jitters as having brought back a slight sense of insecurity, not in Asia specifically but around the world.

There is an understanding that is reached with the material as a result of handling it, which facilitates one's thought processes. A common view is that the epithet "art", particular in its elevated sense, requires a certain level of creative expertise by the artist, whether this be a demonstration of technical ability, an originality in stylistic approach, or a combination of these two. Traditionally skill of execution was viewed as a quality inseparable from art and thus necessary for its success; for Leonardo da Vinci, art, neither more nor less than his other endeavors, was a manifestation of skill. Rembrandt's work, now praised for its ephemeral virtues, was most admired by his contemporaries for its virtuosity. At the turn of the 20th century, the adroit performances of John Singer Sargent were alternately admired and viewed with skepticism for their manual fluency, yet at nearly the same time the artist who would become the era's most recognized and peripatetic iconoclast, Pablo Picasso, was completing a traditional academic training at which he excelled.

‘For all his inspiration, the artist still had to work at his art, and find people to buy it.’ ‘Like Warhol, he began as a commercial artist and his art has its roots in advertising.’ ‘This is undoubtedly an age of globalised art, in which artists routinely show in other countries.’ ‘After art school Moira taught art for a couple of years at the secondary school in Blackminster.’ ‘Unlike other prizes, the Turner does not attempt to award various categories of art or artists.’ ‘If an artist can stay humble and focus only on his art, he rises way beyond his talent and his craft.’ ‘He first became interested in art while doing lino cuts and motion drawings in school.’ ‘The pupils enjoyed stories, art activities and games and on Tuesday they enjoyed a Chinese meal.’ ‘There are limits to what art can accomplish and to what it should presume to do.’ ‘Much of his work in stimulating art activities in the borough was carried out modestly and behind the scenes.’ ‘Its activities include the provision of lunches and a wide range of leisure activities from art to yoga.’ ‘This kind of art does little to inspire women to claim their independence, it is depressive.’ ‘The context for the development of Sam Doyle's career is as interesting as the artist and his art.’ ‘We use art, poetry and prose so that visitors can feel and experience the beauty of nature.’ ‘There is already table tennis but centre workers would like more activities, such as art projects.’ ‘The festival art competition will involve youngsters creating paintings or drawings.’ ‘Thirty of the dustmen are now being sent to modern art classes to try to ensure that the same mistake never happens again.’ ‘This event features a range of activities across art, music, dance and film-making.’ ‘She had a real flair for art and did some brilliant drawings and paintings while she was here.’ ‘Its sub groups included clubs for activities like drama, art and crafts, and country dancing.’ ‘This also makes them ideal for artists or art students seeking inspiration or affirmation.’

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Disputes as to whether or not to classify something as a work of art are referred to as classificatory disputes about art. Classificatory disputes in the 20th century have included cubist and impressionist paintings, Duchamp's Fountain, the movies, superlative imitations of banknotes, conceptual art, and video games. Philosopher David Novitz has argued that disagreement about the definition of art are rarely the heart of the problem. Rather, "the passionate concerns and interests that humans vest in their social life" are "so much a part of all classificatory disputes about art" (Novitz, 1996). According to Novitz, classificatory disputes are more often disputes about societal values and where society is trying to go than they are about theory proper. For example, when the Daily Mail criticized Hirst's and Emin's work by arguing "For 1,000 years art has been one of our great civilising forces. Today, pickled sheep and soiled beds threaten to make barbarians of us all" they are not advancing a definition or theory about art, but questioning the value of Hirst's and Emin's work. In 1998, Arthur Danto, suggested a thought experiment showing that "the status of an artifact as work of art results from the ideas a culture applies to it, rather than its inherent physical or perceptible qualities. Cultural interpretation (an art theory of some kind) is therefore constitutive of an object's arthood."

Boasting over 400 works from museums and private collections around the world, some of which have never been seen before in Europe, the exhibition focuses on the art of the courts, and goes beyond paintings to also include carpets, textiles, ceramics, and metalwork. Amongst these, Fellinger is particularly excited about the lacquerwork and enamels as well as life-size paintings from the Golestan Museum reputed to have been lost. Lacroix, on the other hand, has a special fondness for the carpets and portraits on display, particularly those of Nassereddin Shah and “the musicians laden with pearl jewels precious shimmering costumes.” And, while there is a room dedicated to religious-inspired art, Fellinger notes that one shouldn’t be quick to call Qajar art ‘Islamic’ – as it and Iranian art in general often are – and that the term itself is fraught with issues. “ is a totally an Occidental definition, of course … The problem with it is that it includes everything, from Spain to India … The only link is the religion … It’s a civilisational term that is quite easy.”

The Great Mosque of Kairouan in Tunisia, also called the Mosque of Uqba, is one of the finest, most significant and best preserved artistic and architectural examples of early great mosques. Dated in its present state from the 9th century, it is the ancestor and model of all the mosques in the western Islamic lands.

Somewhat in relation to the above, the word art is also used to apply judgments of value, as in such expressions as "that meal was a work of art" (the cook is an artist), or "the art of deception", (the highly attained level of skill of the deceiver is praised). It is this use of the word as a measure of high quality and high value that gives the term its flavor of subjectivity. Making judgments of value requires a basis for criticism. At the simplest level, a way to determine whether the impact of the object on the senses meets the criteria to be considered art is whether it is perceived to be attractive or repulsive. Though perception is always colored by experience, and is necessarily subjective, it is commonly understood that what is not somehow aesthetically satisfying cannot be art. However, "good" art is not always or even regularly aesthetically appealing to a majority of viewers. In other words, an artist's prime motivation need not be the pursuit of the aesthetic. Also, art often depicts terrible images made for social, moral, or thought-provoking reasons. For example, Francisco Goya's painting depicting the Spanish shootings of 3rd of May 1808 is a graphic depiction of a firing squad executing several pleading civilians. Yet at the same time, the horrific imagery demonstrates Goya's keen artistic ability in composition and execution and produces fitting social and political outrage. Thus, the debate continues as to what mode of aesthetic satisfaction, if any, is required to define 'art'.

Before Modernism, aesthetics in Western art was greatly concerned with achieving the appropriate balance between different aspects of realism or truth to nature and the ideal; ideas as to what the appropriate balance is have shifted to and fro over the centuries. This concern is largely absent in other traditions of art. The aesthetic theorist John Ruskin, who championed what he saw as the naturalism of J. M. W. Turner, saw art's role as the communication by artifice of an essential truth that could only be found in nature.

By Joobin Bekhrad 23 March 2018 Although indelibly illustrious, the millennia-long tale of Iran is, by and large, a sad one. Ravaged by invaders who threatened to put paid to its rich and ancient cultural heritage, razed to the ground by bloodthirsty warlords, perennially betrayed by its own children, and far too often the victim of foreign ploys, the ‘land of the noble’ has been to hell and back again, and then some.The 19th Century was one of the darkest periods in Iran’s recent history. Ruled by sybaritic autocrats who sold Iran for a pittance to foreigners, and plagued by poverty, disease, ignorance, and an overall state of decrepitude and decay, Iran wasn’t exactly the place to be. Yet, as grim as the picture painted by travellers was, whether by Iranians or European diplomats, that depicted by the artists of the Qajar courts was truly a sight to behold. Sumptuous, iconic, and wholly novel, their artworks nearly have the potential to redeem the Qajars. View image of Jeune femme au chador Nearly a century after the fall of Iran’s Qajar dynasty (which lasted from 1785 to 1925), and amidst the festivities of the two-week-long Iranian New Year (Norooz), a landmark exhibition at the Louvre Lens Museum in France, The Rose Empire, is showcasing masterpieces of Qajar art. “In France, we’d never had an exhibition of Qajar art before, so it will be the first one”, says curator Gwenaëlle Fellinger. What’s more, the exhibition’s interior and displays are the work of the fashion designer – and Qajar art lover – Christian Lacroix. “Qajar art belongs to these temporal spaces that have always fascinated me, between two worlds, two eras”, he tells BBC Culture. “The Qajar era is interesting … because of its East-meets-West/West-meets-East mixture of influences.” View image of Portrait de Nasir al-Din Shah en apothéose During the golden age of the Safavid shahs in the 17th Century, their capital Isfahan was the envy of all who visited it. The site of a major cultural renaissance and crossroads, and an inspiration to artists the world over, it is still referred to by its citizens as ‘half the world’. Things took a downward turn, however, after the death of the greatest ‘Sophy’ (as Shakespeare would have said) of them all, Shah Abbas the Great. By the time the last Safavid monarch, Abbas III, ascended the throne, the sun had set over Iran once again.Paradise lostIf the Safavids had ushered in an era of culture and exchange, and the Afsharids and Zands imperialism and peace, that of the Qajars was one of humiliation and depravity. The 18th and 19th Centuries saw Iran stripped of all its former splendour. Vying for power in the strategically important Iran, as well as elsewhere in Central Asia, the Russians and British continually encroached on Iran’s sovereignty. Children were lucky not to die in their cribs, sickness often meant death, venality was what set wheels in motion, and ancient sites were used for target practice With Iran being ruled by feckless and feeble monarchs, the job was all too easy for foreign conspirators; in fact, in some cases, they didn’t even have to lift a finger. To finance his over-the-top lifestyle, Nassereddin Shah – perhaps the most well-known Qajar monarch – gave a single British baron control over all of Iran’s roads, telegraphs, railways, mills, factories, and most of its natural resources; and another, a monopoly on Iran’s tobacco industry. Foreign intrigue aside, Iran was in a pitiful state. Travellers to the country wrote about the lack of proper infrastructure, hideous living conditions, extreme debauchery (drunken orgies and the like), and corruption. View image of Bol à couvercle, plat et cuiller d'un ensemble signé et dédié à Fath Ali Shah The story at the imperial courts, however, was another matter. Expanding on new forms of aesthetics in painting that were introduced in the Afsharid, Zand, and even late Safavid periods, which broke out of the framework of two-dimensional Persian miniatures, artists at the Qajar courts created a visual vocabulary wholly their own. Bedecked in towering crowns topped with aigrettes, glittering brassards, and vivacious robes, and sporting outlandish beards and moustaches, Qajar monarchs like Fat’h Ali Shah, Mohammad Shah, and Nassereddin Shah appeared larger than life, and as works of art in and of themselves. Courtly paintings and photographs depicted a dazzling wonderland of colour, passion, and every jewel under the sun Ditching the dainty and delicate ideals of beauty prevalent in previous eras, painters at the Qajar courts opted for thick, conjoined eyebrows, dark, almond-shaped eyes with coquettish gazes, little rosebud lips, and long, flowing curls. Shahs were attended on by pageboys bearing jewel-encrusted ghalyans (water-pipes), female dancers performed acrobatics on hennaed hands, and belles in diaphanous blouses pouring copious amounts of wine. View image of Boucle de ceinture Elsewhere, Nassereddin Shah, obsessed with all things European and keen to introduce ‘modern’ ways to his country, toyed with photography in his spare time; Antoin Sevruguin captured the lives of the rich, the poor, and the downright wretched on celluloid; and painters like Kamal ol-Molk artfully blended together European and Iranian imagery. In contrast to French and British magazines of the day, which often portrayed the shahs as spineless and degenerate, and Iran as a Persian cat made the plaything of a British lion and Russian bear, courtly paintings and photographs depicted a dazzling wonderland of colour, passion, and every jewel under the sun in which the Shah, ‘God’s Shadow on Earth’, reigned supreme.The age of opulenceThe art of the Qajar era has long been admired by artists and scholars, says Christian Lacroix. “ opulent elegance impressed Louise Dahl-Wolfe … She was inspired by Qajar portraits for a famous shooting session – and one of my favourite fashion features ever.” Yet, Qajar art has also been misunderstood and overlooked by many. In France, Qajar art is looked down on. People usually say it’s kind of kitsch – Gwenaëlle Fellinger “In France, Qajar art is looked down on,” says Fellinger. “People usually say it’s kind of kitsch. The problem is that it’s totally unknown, and the objects seen in auctions are not really of the best quality.” Indeed, a desire to acquaint French audiences with the richness of Qajar art is the driving force behind The Rose Empire, a first for France, and the first major survey of Qajar art since 1998’s Royal Persian Paintings, held at the Brooklyn Museum in New York and the Brunei Gallery at London’s School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). View image of Jeune femme à la jupe bleue Boasting over 400 works from museums and private collections around the world, some of which have never been seen before in Europe, the exhibition focuses on the art of the courts, and goes beyond paintings to also include carpets, textiles, ceramics, and metalwork. Amongst these, Fellinger is particularly excited about the lacquerwork and enamels as well as life-size paintings from the Golestan Museum reputed to have been lost. Lacroix, on the other hand, has a special fondness for the carpets and portraits on display, particularly those of Nassereddin Shah and “the musicians laden with pearl jewels precious shimmering costumes.” And, while there is a room dedicated to religious-inspired art, Fellinger notes that one shouldn’t be quick to call Qajar art ‘Islamic’ – as it and Iranian art in general often are – and that the term itself is fraught with issues. “ is a totally an Occidental definition, of course … The problem with it is that it includes everything, from Spain to India … The only link is the religion … It’s a civilisational term that is quite easy.” View image of Portrait de religieux Just as the exhibition doesn’t limit itself to narrow interpretations of Iranian art, it also goes beyond the Qajars to serve as a sort of introduction to the richness and exuberance of Iranian art and culture as a whole, as well as a catalyst for intercultural dialogue. “In a period like the one we live in politically, economically, and diplomatically, culture from this part of the world is important to be shown in this part of Europe for a better understanding,” says Lacroix. “Even during the Pahlavi era … Iran and France seemed unable to understand each other, and the gap is deeper and deeper each day with events in the Middle East …” Likewise, Fellinger, noting the negative way Iran is often portrayed in Europe, says, “The point is also to prove that there is a really interesting culture.”Despite the decades of darkness the Qajar monarchs brought to Iran, the splendour of Iranian art and culture continued to shine in full force; and now, centuries later, the dazzling masterpieces of that era’s artists are not only as radiant as ever, but are also being used to foster understanding and appreciation of an ancient and much-misunderstood civilisation. Should we be surprised? Not according to Lacroix. “Art is the best link, always.”If you would like to comment on this story or anything else you have seen on BBC Culture, head over to our Facebook page or message us on Twitter.And if you liked this story, sign up for the weekly bbc.com features newsletter, called “If You Only Read 6 Things This Week”. A handpicked selection of stories from BBC Future, Culture, Capital and Travel, delivered to your inbox every Friday.

3artsSubjects of study primarily concerned with human creativity and social life, such as languages, literature, and history (as contrasted with scientific or technical subjects) ‘the belief that the arts and sciences were incompatible’ ‘the Faculty of Arts’More example sentences ‘He was her first and only boyfriend, just into his second year at Durham, where he was studying general arts.’ ‘It was after she had studied business and arts at college in Bangkok that McIntosh came to wider public prominence.’ ‘It thus encompasses in a unique way the arts, social sciences, and natural sciences.’ ‘The theme is York's environment, which takes in science, geography, history and arts topics.’ ‘This should be a vital component in an arts and humanities education today.’ ‘So to do that I would use the example of my job, which is to run a writing course in an arts college.’ ‘I am intending to study media and arts and fear for my future because of this lack of vision.’ ‘At school, she will excel at the arts subjects, and will also develop a love of literature.’ ‘It shocking to see how ignorant and dismissive of the arts scientists can be.’ ‘Looking ahead, construction will be completed on the new arts and humanities building by October.’ ‘We are here to write an essay and a poem for our arts and social sciences course.’ ‘Schoolteachers today are struggling to find time to fit arts subjects into a crowded national curriculum.’ ‘I think my sensibilities were running more towards arts and humanities than math and science.’ ‘For their sixth option, they can take an arts courses or an extra science, language or humanity.’ ‘It strongly encourages research in the arts and in political studies in particular.’ ‘It was a similar story at Strathclyde University when I rang about its arts and social sciences course.’ ‘There was a course covering all aspects of study including arts, science and mathematics.’ ‘These will focus on the teaching of technology, modern languages, arts and science.’

Motivated purposes of art refer to intentional, conscious actions on the part of the artists or creator. These may be to bring about political change, to comment on an aspect of society, to convey a specific emotion or mood, to address personal psychology, to illustrate another discipline, to (with commercial arts) sell a product, or simply as a form of communication.

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Asia’s economic fundamentals——particularly in China and India—are more promising than in other regions where wealth accrues only to a handful royals, oligarchs, and their cronies, despite widening inequality. Public and private investment in cultural infrastructure has also boomed in Asian countries, specifically in China.

“It’s almost clichéd, but the level of sophistication and the speed at which this market is developing—what would take ten years in any other context, they’ll do it in one,” he said. “The first year we came, the people were touching everything, the art was being damaged. People didn’t know how to look at or handle the work. , they’re very smart about the work and they do their homework.” He said another thing that has helped is the growing number of Asian buyers who visit Art Basel’s fairs in Switzerland and in Miami. “The fairs are cross-fertilizing each other,” he said.

“In France, Qajar art is looked down on,” says Fellinger. “People usually say it’s kind of kitsch. The problem is that it’s totally unknown, and the objects seen in auctions are not really of the best quality.” Indeed, a desire to acquaint French audiences with the richness of Qajar art is the driving force behind The Rose Empire, a first for France, and the first major survey of Qajar art since 1998’s Royal Persian Paintings, held at the Brooklyn Museum in New York and the Brunei Gallery at London’s School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS).

The non-motivated purposes of art are those that are integral to being human, transcend the individual, or do not fulfill a specific external purpose. In this sense, Art, as creativity, is something humans must do by their very nature (i.e., no other species creates art), and is therefore beyond utility.

Hong Kong-bred and Paris-educated, Kate Tai, 34, describes herself as “passionate” about art. Two years ago, she took her summer holiday in Belgium, visiting the contemporary art galleries and museums of Brussels and Belgium; she ticks off with delight the Belgian artists she loves, such as Luc Tuymans and Michaël Borremans. This summer, she’ll go to Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Riga, Latvia to continue her art education, since Hong Kong, where she works at the archives of Chinese artist T’ang Haywen, still has no major art museums of its own. Already, she collects work by Jānis Avotiņš, Riusuke Fukahori, and Mila Fürstová, and admires Olafur Elíasson “because he cares about the planet,” she notes. With any luck, she’ll be collecting for the next few decades.Tai is part of the next generation of Asian art collectors drawing the art world in ever-increasing numbers to the region for events like this past week’s Art Basel in Hong Kong. While the art market has seen waves of buyers enter from different parts of the world before—Japanese, Russians, Gulf Arabs—the art market activity in Asia feels qualitatively different, more of a slow-but-sure gravitational shift than a flash-in-the-pan influx of people whose languages, customs, and art preferences had to be quickly learned by a few auction house specialists. The art world appears to be placing its long-term bets on Asia. “It could be another Europe in terms of buying capacity,” said Clare McAndrew, an arts economist and author of UBS and Art Basel’s annual study of the art market. In the most recent edition, she found China had grown to become the world’s second-largest art market, accounting for 21% of sales globally, slightly outpacing the United Kingdom thanks in part to the fall in the value of the pound.

On Thursday afternoon, Gleason engaged another potential new buyer, an older Asian man in a golf jacket and chinos, looking roughly as chic as your average pharmacist, who was circling a posthumously cast Constantin Brancusi bronze. Told it was $4.5 million, the collector barely batted an eyelash. “Fixed price?” he asked. “We can always have a discussion,” Gleason said.“That discount question is as old as Chinese culture,” said Mathias Rastorfer, CEO of the Swiss Galerie Gmurzynska. “That comes up all the time— is art for art’s sake.” He cited recent stock market jitters as having brought back a slight sense of insecurity, not in Asia specifically but around the world.“People feel less blindly optimistic, which doesn’t mean there’s a panic or any kind of dangerous mood, but certainly means you start thinking again,” he said before jumping into major buying discussions. Rastorfer said several collectors had asked for “very specific documentation” about some of the Wifredo Lam paintings the gallery had brought as part of the Kabinett program; it is a step in a process he has observed before, in which Asian buyers like to research works and artists before making a decision, which can lead to some lag time before closing a sale.

Tai is part of the next generation of Asian art collectors drawing the art world in ever-increasing numbers to the region for events like this past week’s Art Basel in Hong Kong. While the art market has seen waves of buyers enter from different parts of the world before—Japanese, Russians, Gulf Arabs—the art market activity in Asia feels qualitatively different, more of a slow-but-sure gravitational shift than a flash-in-the-pan influx of people whose languages, customs, and art preferences had to be quickly learned by a few auction house specialists. The art world appears to be placing its long-term bets on Asia.

VIP Services Art Basel connects leading art patrons and galleries across countries and continents. Our VIPs are engaged in the international artworld as private collectors, museum directors and curators, art advisors, and internationally known artists. The VIP Team provides this distinguished group with exclusive services to nurture artistic dialogue and create a first class Art Basel experience. Gallery Applications Art Basel is strongly rooted in the principle that galleries play an essential role in the development and promotion of visual arts. Galleries are invited to participate after an extensive review. This ensures that each Art Basel show presents Modern and contemporary artwork of the highest standard.

Within this latter sense, the word art may refer to several things: (i) a study of a creative skill, (ii) a process of using the creative skill, (iii) a product of the creative skill, or (iv) the audience's experience with the creative skill. The creative arts (art as discipline) are a collection of disciplines which produce artworks (art as objects) that are compelled by a personal drive (art as activity) and convey a message, mood, or symbolism for the perceiver to interpret (art as experience). Art is something that stimulates an individual's thoughts, emotions, beliefs, or ideas through the senses. Works of art can be explicitly made for this purpose or interpreted on the basis of images or objects. For some scholars, such as Kant, the sciences and the arts could be distinguished by taking science as representing the domain of knowledge and the arts as representing the domain of the freedom of artistic expression.

‘The great thing about being in Calgary, as opposed to L.A., is that you kind of do art for art's sake, and comedy for comedy's sake.’ ‘These artists see the value of their productions as art for art's sake as well as revelations of the truth and presentation of possibilities for their listeners.’ ‘In a school setting, it's never art for art's sake.’ ‘The bourgeois or decadent notions of disinterested investigation, scepticism, art for art's sake and so on, had no place in Soviet Russia or, for that matter, Nazi Germany.’ ‘What needs to be stressed is that neither Khlebnikov nor his fellow Futurist poets were making the case for art for art's sake, for a poetry divorced from its larger cultural import.’ ‘English cultural commentators have recently speculated that this hostility is more widespread, and that there is a deep historical and cultural resistance to the very idea of art for art's sake in Scotland.’ ‘Having criticized art for art's sake for being potentially reactionary, they then focus on the counterproposal they offer to socialist realism and Stalinism.’ ‘Ruskin's pre-Raphaelitism, for example, which stressed the moral purpose of art, contrasted Pater's aestheticism, which promoted the idea of art for art's sake.’ ‘It's an odd looking movie that embraces the idea of art for art's sake.’ ‘He understood best how to play the emotions, but his contemporaries are impatient with an aesthetic of art for art's sake.’

A landmark exhibition celebrates the often misunderstood art of Iran’s Qajar dynasty. It can tell us a lot about the country’s fascinating culture, writes Joobin Bekhrad. Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Reddit Share on WhatsApp Share on Google+ Share by Email Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Reddit Share on StumbleUpon Share on Google+ Share by Email By Joobin Bekhrad 23 March 2018 Although indelibly illustrious, the millennia-long tale of Iran is, by and large, a sad one. Ravaged by invaders who threatened to put paid to its rich and ancient cultural heritage, razed to the ground by bloodthirsty warlords, perennially betrayed by its own children, and far too often the victim of foreign ploys, the ‘land of the noble’ has been to hell and back again, and then some.The 19th Century was one of the darkest periods in Iran’s recent history. Ruled by sybaritic autocrats who sold Iran for a pittance to foreigners, and plagued by poverty, disease, ignorance, and an overall state of decrepitude and decay, Iran wasn’t exactly the place to be. Yet, as grim as the picture painted by travellers was, whether by Iranians or European diplomats, that depicted by the artists of the Qajar courts was truly a sight to behold. Sumptuous, iconic, and wholly novel, their artworks nearly have the potential to redeem the Qajars. View image of Jeune femme au chador Nearly a century after the fall of Iran’s Qajar dynasty (which lasted from 1785 to 1925), and amidst the festivities of the two-week-long Iranian New Year (Norooz), a landmark exhibition at the Louvre Lens Museum in France, The Rose Empire, is showcasing masterpieces of Qajar art. “In France, we’d never had an exhibition of Qajar art before, so it will be the first one”, says curator Gwenaëlle Fellinger. What’s more, the exhibition’s interior and displays are the work of the fashion designer – and Qajar art lover – Christian Lacroix. “Qajar art belongs to these temporal spaces that have always fascinated me, between two worlds, two eras”, he tells BBC Culture. “The Qajar era is interesting … because of its East-meets-West/West-meets-East mixture of influences.” View image of Portrait de Nasir al-Din Shah en apothéose During the golden age of the Safavid shahs in the 17th Century, their capital Isfahan was the envy of all who visited it. The site of a major cultural renaissance and crossroads, and an inspiration to artists the world over, it is still referred to by its citizens as ‘half the world’. Things took a downward turn, however, after the death of the greatest ‘Sophy’ (as Shakespeare would have said) of them all, Shah Abbas the Great. By the time the last Safavid monarch, Abbas III, ascended the throne, the sun had set over Iran once again.Paradise lostIf the Safavids had ushered in an era of culture and exchange, and the Afsharids and Zands imperialism and peace, that of the Qajars was one of humiliation and depravity. The 18th and 19th Centuries saw Iran stripped of all its former splendour. Vying for power in the strategically important Iran, as well as elsewhere in Central Asia, the Russians and British continually encroached on Iran’s sovereignty. Children were lucky not to die in their cribs, sickness often meant death, venality was what set wheels in motion, and ancient sites were used for target practice With Iran being ruled by feckless and feeble monarchs, the job was all too easy for foreign conspirators; in fact, in some cases, they didn’t even have to lift a finger. To finance his over-the-top lifestyle, Nassereddin Shah – perhaps the most well-known Qajar monarch – gave a single British baron control over all of Iran’s roads, telegraphs, railways, mills, factories, and most of its natural resources; and another, a monopoly on Iran’s tobacco industry. Foreign intrigue aside, Iran was in a pitiful state. Travellers to the country wrote about the lack of proper infrastructure, hideous living conditions, extreme debauchery (drunken orgies and the like), and corruption. View image of Bol à couvercle, plat et cuiller d'un ensemble signé et dédié à Fath Ali Shah The story at the imperial courts, however, was another matter. Expanding on new forms of aesthetics in painting that were introduced in the Afsharid, Zand, and even late Safavid periods, which broke out of the framework of two-dimensional Persian miniatures, artists at the Qajar courts created a visual vocabulary wholly their own. Bedecked in towering crowns topped with aigrettes, glittering brassards, and vivacious robes, and sporting outlandish beards and moustaches, Qajar monarchs like Fat’h Ali Shah, Mohammad Shah, and Nassereddin Shah appeared larger than life, and as works of art in and of themselves. Courtly paintings and photographs depicted a dazzling wonderland of colour, passion, and every jewel under the sun Ditching the dainty and delicate ideals of beauty prevalent in previous eras, painters at the Qajar courts opted for thick, conjoined eyebrows, dark, almond-shaped eyes with coquettish gazes, little rosebud lips, and long, flowing curls. Shahs were attended on by pageboys bearing jewel-encrusted ghalyans (water-pipes), female dancers performed acrobatics on hennaed hands, and belles in diaphanous blouses pouring copious amounts of wine. View image of Boucle de ceinture Elsewhere, Nassereddin Shah, obsessed with all things European and keen to introduce ‘modern’ ways to his country, toyed with photography in his spare time; Antoin Sevruguin captured the lives of the rich, the poor, and the downright wretched on celluloid; and painters like Kamal ol-Molk artfully blended together European and Iranian imagery. In contrast to French and British magazines of the day, which often portrayed the shahs as spineless and degenerate, and Iran as a Persian cat made the plaything of a British lion and Russian bear, courtly paintings and photographs depicted a dazzling wonderland of colour, passion, and every jewel under the sun in which the Shah, ‘God’s Shadow on Earth’, reigned supreme.The age of opulenceThe art of the Qajar era has long been admired by artists and scholars, says Christian Lacroix. “ opulent elegance impressed Louise Dahl-Wolfe … She was inspired by Qajar portraits for a famous shooting session – and one of my favourite fashion features ever.” Yet, Qajar art has also been misunderstood and overlooked by many. In France, Qajar art is looked down on. People usually say it’s kind of kitsch – Gwenaëlle Fellinger “In France, Qajar art is looked down on,” says Fellinger. “People usually say it’s kind of kitsch. The problem is that it’s totally unknown, and the objects seen in auctions are not really of the best quality.” Indeed, a desire to acquaint French audiences with the richness of Qajar art is the driving force behind The Rose Empire, a first for France, and the first major survey of Qajar art since 1998’s Royal Persian Paintings, held at the Brooklyn Museum in New York and the Brunei Gallery at London’s School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). View image of Jeune femme à la jupe bleue Boasting over 400 works from museums and private collections around the world, some of which have never been seen before in Europe, the exhibition focuses on the art of the courts, and goes beyond paintings to also include carpets, textiles, ceramics, and metalwork. Amongst these, Fellinger is particularly excited about the lacquerwork and enamels as well as life-size paintings from the Golestan Museum reputed to have been lost. Lacroix, on the other hand, has a special fondness for the carpets and portraits on display, particularly those of Nassereddin Shah and “the musicians laden with pearl jewels precious shimmering costumes.” And, while there is a room dedicated to religious-inspired art, Fellinger notes that one shouldn’t be quick to call Qajar art ‘Islamic’ – as it and Iranian art in general often are – and that the term itself is fraught with issues. “ is a totally an Occidental definition, of course … The problem with it is that it includes everything, from Spain to India … The only link is the religion … It’s a civilisational term that is quite easy.” View image of Portrait de religieux Just as the exhibition doesn’t limit itself to narrow interpretations of Iranian art, it also goes beyond the Qajars to serve as a sort of introduction to the richness and exuberance of Iranian art and culture as a whole, as well as a catalyst for intercultural dialogue. “In a period like the one we live in politically, economically, and diplomatically, culture from this part of the world is important to be shown in this part of Europe for a better understanding,” says Lacroix. “Even during the Pahlavi era … Iran and France seemed unable to understand each other, and the gap is deeper and deeper each day with events in the Middle East …” Likewise, Fellinger, noting the negative way Iran is often portrayed in Europe, says, “The point is also to prove that there is a really interesting culture.”Despite the decades of darkness the Qajar monarchs brought to Iran, the splendour of Iranian art and culture continued to shine in full force; and now, centuries later, the dazzling masterpieces of that era’s artists are not only as radiant as ever, but are also being used to foster understanding and appreciation of an ancient and much-misunderstood civilisation. Should we be surprised? Not according to Lacroix. “Art is the best link, always.”If you would like to comment on this story or anything else you have seen on BBC Culture, head over to our Facebook page or message us on Twitter.And if you liked this story, sign up for the weekly bbc.com features newsletter, called “If You Only Read 6 Things This Week”. A handpicked selection of stories from BBC Future, Culture, Capital and Travel, delivered to your inbox every Friday.

Anti-art is a label for art that intentionally challenges the established parameters and values of art; it is term associated with Dadaism and attributed to Marcel Duchamp just before World War I, when he was making art from found objects. One of these, Fountain , an ordinary urinal, has achieved considerable prominence and influence on art. Anti-art is a feature of work by Situationist International, the lo-fi Mail art movement, and the Young British Artists, though it is a form still rejected by the Stuckists, who describe themselves as anti-anti-art.

In the east, Islamic art's rejection of iconography led to emphasis on geometric patterns, calligraphy, and architecture. Further east, religion dominated artistic styles and forms too. India and Tibet saw emphasis on painted sculptures and dance, while religious painting borrowed many conventions from sculpture and tended to bright contrasting colors with emphasis on outlines. China saw the flourishing of many art forms: jade carving, bronzework, pottery (including the stunning terracotta army of Emperor Qin), poetry, calligraphy, music, painting, drama, fiction, etc. Chinese styles vary greatly from era to era and each one is traditionally named after the ruling dynasty. So, for example, Tang dynasty paintings are monochromatic and sparse, emphasizing idealized landscapes, but Ming dynasty paintings are busy and colorful, and focus on telling stories via setting and composition. Japan names its styles after imperial dynasties too, and also saw much interplay between the styles of calligraphy and painting. Woodblock printing became important in Japan after the 17th century.

Art may be characterized in terms of mimesis (its representation of reality), narrative (storytelling), expression, communication of emotion, or other qualities. During the Romantic period, art came to be seen as "a special faculty of the human mind to be classified with religion and science".

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The art of the Qajar era has long been admired by artists and scholars, says Christian Lacroix. “ opulent elegance impressed Louise Dahl-Wolfe … She was inspired by Qajar portraits for a famous shooting session – and one of my favourite fashion features ever.” Yet, Qajar art has also been misunderstood and overlooked by many.

Since ancient times, much of the finest art has represented a deliberate display of wealth or power, often achieved by using massive scale and expensive materials. Much art has been commissioned by political rulers or religious establishments, with more modest versions only available to the most wealthy in society.

In another essay, "The Affective Fallacy," which served as a kind of sister essay to "The Intentional Fallacy" Wimsatt and Beardsley also discounted the reader's personal/emotional reaction to a literary work as a valid means of analyzing a text. This fallacy would later be repudiated by theorists from the reader-response school of literary theory. Ironically, one of the leading theorists from this school, Stanley Fish, was himself trained by New Critics. Fish criticizes Wimsatt and Beardsley in his essay "Literature in the Reader" .

The nature of art has been described by philosopher Richard Wollheim as "one of the most elusive of the traditional problems of human culture". Art has been defined as a vehicle for the expression or communication of emotions and ideas, a means for exploring and appreciating formal elements for their own sake, and as mimesis or representation. Art as mimesis has deep roots in the philosophy of Aristotle. Leo Tolstoy identified art as a use of indirect means to communicate from one person to another. Benedetto Croce and R.G. Collingwood advanced the idealist view that art expresses emotions, and that the work of art therefore essentially exists in the mind of the creator. The theory of art as form has its roots in the philosophy of Immanuel Kant, and was developed in the early twentieth century by Roger Fry and Clive Bell. More recently, thinkers influenced by Martin Heidegger have interpreted art as the means by which a community develops for itself a medium for self-expression and interpretation. George Dickie has offered an institutional theory of art that defines a work of art as any artifact upon which a qualified person or persons acting on behalf of the social institution commonly referred to as "the art world" has conferred "the status of candidate for appreciation". Larry Shiner has described fine art as "not an essence or a fate but something we have made. Art as we have generally understood it is a European invention barely two hundred years old."

The western Age of Enlightenment in the 18th century saw artistic depictions of physical and rational certainties of the clockwork universe, as well as politically revolutionary visions of a post-monarchist world, such as Blake's portrayal of Newton as a divine geometer, or David's propagandistic paintings. This led to Romantic rejections of this in favor of pictures of the emotional side and individuality of humans, exemplified in the novels of Goethe. The late 19th century then saw a host of artistic movements, such as academic art, Symbolism, impressionism and fauvism among others.

The story at the imperial courts, however, was another matter. Expanding on new forms of aesthetics in painting that were introduced in the Afsharid, Zand, and even late Safavid periods, which broke out of the framework of two-dimensional Persian miniatures, artists at the Qajar courts created a visual vocabulary wholly their own. Bedecked in towering crowns topped with aigrettes, glittering brassards, and vivacious robes, and sporting outlandish beards and moustaches, Qajar monarchs like Fat’h Ali Shah, Mohammad Shah, and Nassereddin Shah appeared larger than life, and as works of art in and of themselves.

Art has had a great number of different functions throughout its history, making its purpose difficult to abstract or quantify to any single concept. This does not imply that the purpose of Art is "vague", but that it has had many unique, different reasons for being created. Some of these functions of Art are provided in the following outline. The different purposes of art may be grouped according to those that are non-motivated, and those that are motivated (Lévi-Strauss).

More example sentences ‘For all his inspiration, the artist still had to work at his art, and find people to buy it.’ ‘Like Warhol, he began as a commercial artist and his art has its roots in advertising.’ ‘This is undoubtedly an age of globalised art, in which artists routinely show in other countries.’ ‘After art school Moira taught art for a couple of years at the secondary school in Blackminster.’ ‘Unlike other prizes, the Turner does not attempt to award various categories of art or artists.’ ‘If an artist can stay humble and focus only on his art, he rises way beyond his talent and his craft.’ ‘He first became interested in art while doing lino cuts and motion drawings in school.’ ‘The pupils enjoyed stories, art activities and games and on Tuesday they enjoyed a Chinese meal.’ ‘There are limits to what art can accomplish and to what it should presume to do.’ ‘Much of his work in stimulating art activities in the borough was carried out modestly and behind the scenes.’ ‘Its activities include the provision of lunches and a wide range of leisure activities from art to yoga.’ ‘This kind of art does little to inspire women to claim their independence, it is depressive.’ ‘The context for the development of Sam Doyle's career is as interesting as the artist and his art.’ ‘We use art, poetry and prose so that visitors can feel and experience the beauty of nature.’ ‘There is already table tennis but centre workers would like more activities, such as art projects.’ ‘The festival art competition will involve youngsters creating paintings or drawings.’ ‘Thirty of the dustmen are now being sent to modern art classes to try to ensure that the same mistake never happens again.’ ‘This event features a range of activities across art, music, dance and film-making.’ ‘She had a real flair for art and did some brilliant drawings and paintings while she was here.’ ‘Its sub groups included clubs for activities like drama, art and crafts, and country dancing.’ ‘This also makes them ideal for artists or art students seeking inspiration or affirmation.’

With regards to the literary art and the musical arts, Aristotle considered epic poetry, tragedy, comedy, dithyrambic poetry and music to be mimetic or imitative art, each varying in imitation by medium, object, and manner. For example, music imitates with the media of rhythm and harmony, whereas dance imitates with rhythm alone, and poetry with language. The forms also differ in their object of imitation. Comedy, for instance, is a dramatic imitation of men worse than average; whereas tragedy imitates men slightly better than average. Lastly, the forms differ in their manner of imitation—through narrative or character, through change or no change, and through drama or no drama. Aristotle believed that imitation is natural to mankind and constitutes one of mankind's advantages over animals.

Hong Kong-bred and Paris-educated, Kate Tai, 34, describes herself as “passionate” about art. Two years ago, she took her summer holiday in Belgium, visiting the contemporary art galleries and museums of Brussels and Belgium; she ticks off with delight the Belgian artists she loves, such as Luc Tuymans and Michaël Borremans. This summer, she’ll go to Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Riga, Latvia to continue her art education, since Hong Kong, where she works at the archives of Chinese artist T’ang Haywen, still has no major art museums of its own. Already, she collects work by Jānis Avotiņš, Riusuke Fukahori, and Mila Fürstová, and admires Olafur Elíasson “because he cares about the planet,” she notes. With any luck, she’ll be collecting for the next few decades.

2the artsThe various branches of creative activity, such as painting, music, literature, and dance. ‘the visual arts’in singular ‘the art of photography’More example sentences ‘He was a talented man whose ability covered his politics, his academic work, the arts and music.’ ‘The charity will also concentrate on funding the arts through sponsorship of music, ballet, opera and film.’ ‘Outside medicine she loved the arts and literature and particularly classical music and opera.’ ‘The character loves the movies, loves the arts, loves music and it was a great way to incorporate that to make an original idea.’ ‘In any community, music and the arts are not seen as stable professions.’ ‘Writers would also like to see more subsidy for Scottish publishers, and for the arts and literature in general.’ ‘His experience in brokering has influenced his way of viewing the arts, the art works and artists.’ ‘Iqaluit is a step closer to having its own year-round centre for showcasing the arts and culture.’ ‘Boys are less likely than girls to read and take part in music and the arts.’ ‘The focus of the magazine is basically on urban culture, spanning music, fashion and the arts.’ ‘The arts develop because of aptitude, talent, genius, hard work and serendipity.’ ‘In the arts, literary and artistic canons are no longer restricted to the work of men.’ ‘Ingram first became involved with music and the arts through the dance program at SFU.’ ‘It is happening across the globe and in a hundred different corners of the arts and culture.’ ‘There'll be another free download next week - and more coverage of the best music and all the arts.’ ‘He said more time should be spent on music, the arts and reading to allow pupils to think in a less regimented way.’ ‘Of all the arts, music is the most often and most rigorously examined.’ ‘Out of all the arts, it is dance which fetishises youth to the greatest degree.’ ‘A key part of the project will be to explore and promote the relationship between science, technology and the arts.’ ‘This is also true of newspaper critics who cover the arts, films, music, and books.’

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Finally, the developing theory of post-structuralism studies art's significance in a cultural context, such as the ideas, emotions, and reactions prompted by a work. The cultural context often reduces to the artist's techniques and intentions, in which case analysis proceeds along lines similar to formalism and intentionalism. However, in other cases historical and material conditions may predominate, such as religious and philosophical convictions, sociopolitical and economic structures, or even climate and geography. Art criticism continues to grow and develop alongside art.

Decisive for the linguistic turn debate in art history and the humanities were the works of yet another tradition, namely the structuralism of Ferdinand de Saussure and the ensuing movement of poststructuralism. In 1981, the artist Mark Tansey created a work of art titled "The Innocent Eye" as a criticism of the prevailing climate of disagreement in the philosophy of art during the closing decades of the 20th century. Influential theorists include Judith Butler, Luce Irigaray, Julia Kristeva, Michel Foucault and Jacques Derrida. The power of language, more specifically of certain rhetorical tropes, in art history and historical discourse was explored by Hayden White. The fact that language is not a transparent medium of thought had been stressed by a very different form of philosophy of language which originated in the works of Johann Georg Hamann and Wilhelm von Humboldt. Ernst Gombrich and Nelson Goodman in his book Languages of Art: An Approach to a Theory of Symbols came to hold that the conceptual encounter with the work of art predominated exclusively over the perceptual and visual encounter with the work of art during the 1960s and 1970s. He was challenged on the basis of research done by the Nobel prize winning psychologist Roger Sperry who maintained that the human visual encounter was not limited to concepts represented in language alone (the linguistic turn) and that other forms of psychological representations of the work of art were equally defensible and demonstrable. Sperry's view eventually prevailed by the end of the 20th century with aesthetic philosophers such as Nick Zangwill strongly defending a return to moderate aesthetic formalism among other alternatives.

In the decades since, these ideas have been somewhat lost as the art market has learned to sell limited edition DVDs of video works, invitations to exclusive performance art pieces, and the objects left over from conceptual pieces. Many of these performances create works that are only understood by the elite who have been educated as to why an idea or video or piece of apparent garbage may be considered art. The marker of status becomes understanding the work instead of necessarily owning it, and the artwork remains an upper-class activity. "With the widespread use of DVD recording technology in the early 2000s, artists, and the gallery system that derives its profits from the sale of artworks, gained an important means of controlling the sale of video and computer artworks in limited editions to collectors."

In the perspective of the history of art, artistic works have existed for almost as long as humankind: from early pre-historic art to contemporary art; however, some theories restrict the concept of "artistic works" to modern Western societies. One early sense of the definition of art is closely related to the older Latin meaning, which roughly translates to "skill" or "craft," as associated with words such as "artisan." English words derived from this meaning include artifact, artificial, artifice, medical arts, and military arts. However, there are many other colloquial uses of the word, all with some relation to its etymology.

Our Basel show brings the international artworld together, with 291 of the world's leading galleries showing the works of over 4,000 artists. A full program of artworld talks takes place each day. Exhibitions and events are also offered by cultural institutions in Basel and the surrounding area, creating an exciting, region-wide art week.

While Sean Kelly doesn’t have permanent staff in Asia, he has been exhibiting at the fair since it was Art HK, as part of a long-term strategy of “showing face,” putting in time with collectors and coming back to the region again and again. He contrasted that delicate approach with how some dealers had approached Japanese buyers in the 1980s.

More example sentences ‘We all know card tricks are about the speed of the hand beating the eye but Daniel is an expert in the art.’ ‘When your schedule is as packed as mine you have to master the art of multitasking to get things done.’ ‘Baby massage is an art, explained Archana Master as she gently massaged baby James.’ ‘Lively conversation and anecdotes will abound as the duo discuss the art of writing for theatre.’ ‘How important was the ability to practice the art of seduction for a modern spy?’ ‘Used correctly, e-mail is a great asset but it's no substitute for the art of conversation.’ ‘Undisciplined as the narrative may appear, it is handled with the art which conceals art.’ ‘At home, my wife, with her talent in designing, soon mastered the art of baking cakes.’ ‘He has mastered the art of the interview, meaning very little is disclosed.’ ‘Having been born with the gift of laughter, let us seriously learn the art of laughing.’ ‘It's quite an art actually; it's amazing the speed that some of these line managers can work at.’ ‘He was often fingered as the source of government leaks and is skilful in the art of invisibility in times of trouble.’ ‘Tugay bossed the midfield after delivering a masterclass in the art of pass and move.’ ‘It's ironic, but it's mobile telephones that have killed the art of conversation.’ ‘We must thank the broadcasters for their renewed effort to revive the art of conversation.’ ‘If he's too late he'll sit and wait: for Max has mastered the art of queuing up.’ ‘No one knows for certain in what epoch the Arabs began to practice the art of balladry.’ ‘This used to be an art practised by waiters in posh restaurants right in front of the diner, and it was a joy to watch.’ ‘This is part of the art of being a practitioner and can greatly influence the ability to heal the patient.’ ‘He reasons that if he is to take the job seriously he must master the art of getting good performances from actors.’

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With Iran being ruled by feckless and feeble monarchs, the job was all too easy for foreign conspirators; in fact, in some cases, they didn’t even have to lift a finger. To finance his over-the-top lifestyle, Nassereddin Shah – perhaps the most well-known Qajar monarch – gave a single British baron control over all of Iran’s roads, telegraphs, railways, mills, factories, and most of its natural resources; and another, a monopoly on Iran’s tobacco industry. Foreign intrigue aside, Iran was in a pitiful state. Travellers to the country wrote about the lack of proper infrastructure, hideous living conditions, extreme debauchery (drunken orgies and the like), and corruption.

“You build up a reputation and people have confidence and they come back,” Kelly said. “Let’s be honest, in the 1980s there were a lot of Western dealers selling third-rate crap to the Japanese market at hyperinflated prices and treating them like they didn’t know what they were doing. Anybody who attempts to do that here is not going to last very long.”He noted that the culture of looking at, appreciating, and understanding contemporary art has all unfolded very swiftly in China, starting from zero. “It’s almost clichéd, but the level of sophistication and the speed at which this market is developing—what would take ten years in any other context, they’ll do it in one,” he said. “The first year we came, the people were touching everything, the art was being damaged. People didn’t know how to look at or handle the work. , they’re very smart about the work and they do their homework.” He said another thing that has helped is the growing number of Asian buyers who visit Art Basel’s fairs in Switzerland and in Miami. “The fairs are cross-fertilizing each other,” he said. Other dealers said their Asian clients, especially the serious ones, are often making the trip to see the galleries in person. Damon Garstang at Goodman Gallery said his serious clients come to South Africa to visit the gallery, as did Nicolo Cardi of Cardi Gallery in Milan and London. Cardi said he’s seen about 30% of the Asian clients he knows at his London space, since they have business in London. Benedicte Goesaert from Antwerp’s Zeno X Gallery said she also receives Asian collectors in Belgium, and recently took advantage of a group of Chinese collectors’ attendance of TEFAF in nearby Maastricht, in the Netherlands, to arrange a visit for them to Luc Tuymans’s studio in Antwerp.

VIP Services Art Basel connects leading art patrons and galleries across countries and continents. Our VIPs are engaged in the international artworld as private collectors, museum directors and curators, art advisors, and internationally known artists. The VIP Team provides this distinguished group with exclusive services to nurture artistic dialogue and create a first class Art Basel experience.

In general there are three schools of philosophy regarding art, focusing respectively on form, content, and context. Extreme Formalism is the view that all aesthetic properties of art are formal (that is, part of the art form). Philosophers almost universally reject this view and hold that the properties and aesthetics of art extend beyond materials, techniques, and form. Unfortunately, there is little consensus on terminology for these informal properties. Some authors refer to subject matter and content – i.e., denotations and connotations – while others prefer terms like meaning and significance.

Ropac said he is looking for a space in Asia, too. For now, he has a Hong Kong-based Asia director, Nicholas Buckley Wood, who travels across the region and speaks fluent Mandarin. At the booth on Wednesday, Buckley Wood recognized an important Asian collector and promptly introduced him to Ropac; the man sat down and said calmly “I am looking for some Antony Gormley,” the British sculptor whose works have sold at auction recently for upwards of £5.2 million. In addition to works sold that were not at the booth, the gallery had sold

Duchamp once proposed that art is any activity of any kind- everything. However, the way that only certain activities are classified today as art is a social construction. There is evidence that there may be an element of truth to this. The Invention of Art: A Cultural History is an art history book which examines the construction of the modern system of the arts i.e. Fine Art. Shiner finds evidence that the older system of the arts before our modern system (fine art) held art to be any skilled human activity i.e. Ancient Greek society did not possess the term art but techne. Techne can be understood neither as art or craft, the reason being that the distinctions of art and craft are historical products that came later on in human history. Techne included painting, sculpting and music but also; cooking, medicine, horsemanship, geometry, carpentry, prophecy, and farming etc.

Our Hong Kong show, held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, features premier galleries from Asia and beyond. Underlining Art Basel's commitment to the region, half of the participating galleries once again have exhibition spaces in Asia and Asia-Pacific. The show provides an in-depth overview of the region’s diversity through both historical material and cutting-edge works by established and emerging artists.

Although indelibly illustrious, the millennia-long tale of Iran is, by and large, a sad one. Ravaged by invaders who threatened to put paid to its rich and ancient cultural heritage, razed to the ground by bloodthirsty warlords, perennially betrayed by its own children, and far too often the victim of foreign ploys, the ‘land of the noble’ has been to hell and back again, and then some.

Coming up: Basel June 14 – 17, 2018 Our Basel show brings the international artworld together, with 291 of the world's leading galleries showing the works of over 4,000 artists. A full program of artworld talks takes place each day. Exhibitions and events are also offered by cultural institutions in Basel and the surrounding area, creating an exciting, region-wide art week.

art for art's sakeUsed to convey the idea that the chief or only aim of a work of art is the self-expression of the individual artist who creates it.Example sentences ‘The great thing about being in Calgary, as opposed to L.A., is that you kind of do art for art's sake, and comedy for comedy's sake.’ ‘These artists see the value of their productions as art for art's sake as well as revelations of the truth and presentation of possibilities for their listeners.’ ‘In a school setting, it's never art for art's sake.’ ‘The bourgeois or decadent notions of disinterested investigation, scepticism, art for art's sake and so on, had no place in Soviet Russia or, for that matter, Nazi Germany.’ ‘What needs to be stressed is that neither Khlebnikov nor his fellow Futurist poets were making the case for art for art's sake, for a poetry divorced from its larger cultural import.’ ‘English cultural commentators have recently speculated that this hostility is more widespread, and that there is a deep historical and cultural resistance to the very idea of art for art's sake in Scotland.’ ‘Having criticized art for art's sake for being potentially reactionary, they then focus on the counterproposal they offer to socialist realism and Stalinism.’ ‘Ruskin's pre-Raphaelitism, for example, which stressed the moral purpose of art, contrasted Pater's aestheticism, which promoted the idea of art for art's sake.’ ‘It's an odd looking movie that embraces the idea of art for art's sake.’ ‘He understood best how to play the emotions, but his contemporaries are impatient with an aesthetic of art for art's sake.’art is long, life is shortproverb There is so much knowledge to acquire that a lifetime is not sufficient.Example sentences ‘Goethe said that art is long, life is short.’ ‘They can be summed up in such Latin expressions as: ars longa, vita brevis (art is long, life is short) ora pro scriptore (pray for the scribe) finis coronat opus (the end crowns the work) errare humanum est (to err is human) scriptori vita (long life to the scribe).’the art of warThe strategy, tactics, and techniques of combat.Example sentences ‘We all need instruction; for the art of war, the primary forms of instruction are training, personal study, and hard-won experience.’ ‘As one component of the art of war, tactics are but part of the whole; the complex, costly, and messy business of war must be seen in the round.’ ‘Eisenhower had read military history, including the works of the Prussian military intellectual Carl von Clausewitz, and had studied the art of war under the supervision of the leading American strategists.’ ‘They openly deprecated the principles of military science and art of war.’ ‘The American Army came to favor the science of war over the art of war, resulting in a stiff adherence to principles and rules.’

The creative arts are often divided into more specific categories, typically along perceptually distinguishable categories such as media, genre, styles, and form. Art form refers to the elements of art that are independent of its interpretation or significance. It covers the methods adopted by the artist and the physical composition of the artwork, primarily non-semantic aspects of the work (i.e., figurae), such as color, contour, dimension, medium, melody, space, texture, and value. Form may also include visual design principles, such as arrangement, balance, contrast, emphasis, harmony, proportion, proximity, and rhythm.

Pop artists like Andy Warhol became both noteworthy and influential through work including and possibly critiquing popular culture, as well as the art world. Artists of the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s expanded this technique of self-criticism beyond high art to all cultural image-making, including fashion images, comics, billboards and pornography.

Realistic, naturalistic art had dissembled the medium, using art to conceal art; modernism used art to call attention to art. The limitations that constitute the medium of painting—the flat surface, the shape of the support, the properties of the pigment—were treated by the Old Masters as negative factors that could be acknowledged only implicitly or indirectly. Under Modernism these same limitations came to be regarded as positive factors, and were acknowledged openly.

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The second, and more recent, sense of the word art as an abbreviation for creative art or fine art emerged in the early 17th century. Fine art refers to a skill used to express the artist's creativity, or to engage the audience's aesthetic sensibilities, or to draw the audience towards consideration of more refined or finer work of art.

“You build up a reputation and people have confidence and they come back,” Kelly said. “Let’s be honest, in the 1980s there were a lot of Western dealers selling third-rate crap to the Japanese market at hyperinflated prices and treating them like they didn’t know what they were doing. Anybody who attempts to do that here is not going to last very long.”

Example sentences ‘We all need instruction; for the art of war, the primary forms of instruction are training, personal study, and hard-won experience.’ ‘As one component of the art of war, tactics are but part of the whole; the complex, costly, and messy business of war must be seen in the round.’ ‘Eisenhower had read military history, including the works of the Prussian military intellectual Carl von Clausewitz, and had studied the art of war under the supervision of the leading American strategists.’ ‘They openly deprecated the principles of military science and art of war.’ ‘The American Army came to favor the science of war over the art of war, resulting in a stiff adherence to principles and rules.’

Music, theatre, film, dance, and other performing arts, as well as literature and other media such as interactive media, are included in a broader definition of art or the arts. Until the 17th century, art referred to any skill or mastery and was not differentiated from crafts or sciences.

Art Basel connects leading art patrons and galleries across countries and continents. Our VIPs are engaged in the international artworld as private collectors, museum directors and curators, art advisors, and internationally known artists. The VIP Team provides this distinguished group with exclusive services to nurture artistic dialogue and create a first class Art Basel experience.

The end of the 20th century fostered an extensive debate known as the linguistic turn controversy, or the "innocent eye debate", and generally referred to as the structuralism-poststructuralism debate in the philosophy of art. This debate discussed the encounter of the work of art as being determined by the relative extent to which the conceptual encounter with the work of art dominates over the perceptual encounter with the work of art.

If the Safavids had ushered in an era of culture and exchange, and the Afsharids and Zands imperialism and peace, that of the Qajars was one of humiliation and depravity. The 18th and 19th Centuries saw Iran stripped of all its former splendour. Vying for power in the strategically important Iran, as well as elsewhere in Central Asia, the Russians and British continually encroached on Iran’s sovereignty.

During the golden age of the Safavid shahs in the 17th Century, their capital Isfahan was the envy of all who visited it. The site of a major cultural renaissance and crossroads, and an inspiration to artists the world over, it is still referred to by its citizens as ‘half the world’. Things took a downward turn, however, after the death of the greatest ‘Sophy’ (as Shakespeare would have said) of them all, Shah Abbas the Great. By the time the last Safavid monarch, Abbas III, ascended the throne, the sun had set over Iran once again.

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